


That Charming Crooked Smile

by Kivea



Category: South Park
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - High School, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Haircuts, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-20 16:48:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15538665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kivea/pseuds/Kivea
Summary: Getting your hair cut was stressful.For a long time, Tweek did it himself. He didn't trust hairdressers and he was too old to let his mother chose a 'style'. He planned on never letting anyone near it until he was nominated to Kenny as a good model to use to improve his skills.He might've been able to mentally prepare himself to let the other blonde cut his hair, but nothing would prepare him for exactly how disarming that charming, crooked smile could be.





	That Charming Crooked Smile

Getting your hair cut was  _stressful_. 

You were entrusting another human being to take sharp, pointy objects to the vicinity of your skull, and once he got to a certain age and undercuts were all the rage, those objects suddenly included  _razors_. For the longest time his mother had cut his hair for him, insisting that he couldn’t very well wander around town with hair like a girl, but when he hit the ripe age of fourteen his hair became his own responsibility and choice. 

So take  _that_ , mother. He could very well wander around town with hair like whatever the fuck he wanted. 

In order to get a haircut you had to go to the South Park mall, and the sweet old lady who had been the town hairdresser for years had finally retired and sold her shop to Super Cuts.  _Super Cuts_. And it would be a cold day in hell that he finally relented and agreed to part with hair strands that held his genetic code or whatever to  _Super Cuts_. 

Craig had rolled his eyes, as he always did when the topic of the day concerned anything that was even vaguely related to science, and pointed out that Super Cuts weren’t into cloning, and that only the base of human hair contained DNA, not cut off bits of it. 

“Okay, first of all? You’ve got real fucking lame now we have advanced science classes. Secondly? Fuck you, Craig, you’re not a  _cloning master_ , alright?!” 

Craig raised a brow, shrugged, and said: “Okay, whatever. So what are you gonna do?” 

The first time he cut his hair himself it didn’t go great. He had spent a week hiding it under a black beanie, pinned to his head with stolen hairpins from his mother’s dresser. He then turned to watching YouTube tutorials that showed you how to cut it while it was in a small ponytail, and accepted that he was going to have to get used to it constantly being around his neck unless he shoved thousands of hairpins in his hair. 

It was around that time that the girls started asking him if he had spare hairpins they could borrow. He always did. 

That was how he became friends with Wendy, and consequentially Bebe and Red, and Heidi. And Nicole. He never  _asked_ for friends. He had been happy with occasionally tagging along with Craig and his gang, or spending some time with Kyle for study sessions, or sitting at Bradley’s table for lunch. Wendy was undoubtedly his favourite though. She never tried to hassle him to join them on any of their dumb little spa days. 

“It’s super fun!” Bebe insisted. “We all get together and buy face masks, and go to the hairdressers together! Your hair could do with a-!” 

“Bebe,” Wendy scolded for the umpteenth time. “If Tweek’s happy cutting his own hair, then let him do it. I think it’s quite impressive. I don’t nearly have the kind of coordination required for that kind of thing.” 

“It’s not impressive if it looks like a birds nest, Wends.” 

Bebe would snark and storm off. Wendy and Tweek would exchanged a tired look and then continue whatever they were doing knowing she would soon be back like nothing ever happened. 

Over time he liked to think he got somewhat talented at being able to cut his own hair. Once or twice he tried to do something a bit different, but he didn’t have very steady hands and one easy  _snip_  across the back always did the trick. For three comfortable years he never had to worry about entrusting the scissors to anyone else, or having to keep up with haircare, or with it in his eyes at work after he discovered the wonder of comb-styled headbands. 

Then one day Butters came into school with patterns shaved into the fair hair at the back of his head. 

“Lookin’ hella cool, Butterfly,” Bebe complimented with a wide smile. “Turn round and let me see proper!” 

There was a dusting of pink on the pale cheeks as Bebe got up close and personal with him. “Oh-it’s-yeah, I’m real happy with it! I think Ken did a swell job!” 

“Ken?!” she gasped as she pulled back, her chocolaty eyes boring into Butter’s head. “As in Kenny?  _Our_ Kenny?!” 

“Well sure! He’s been doin’ my hair for me for the past year!” 

“Ugh, that whore never told me he was this good at it!” 

Tweek averted his eyes from the scene as Bebe and Butters continued to gossip between themselves. Next to him sat Token, who nudged him lightly with his elbow, a small smirk on his face. 

“Maybe you should hit Kenny up, Tweek. You’re starting to get a mullet.” 

Tweek gave a scoff of displeasure. “Eat ass, Token.” 

His dark-skinned friend laughed and the topic was dropped in favour of their class. At one point he felt the burning of someone’s eyes on his left, but when he looked no one was looking at him. Bebe was hard at work scribbling away (a little unusual, really), and Butters was running his hand over the freshly shaved back of his head. 

He didn’t hear anything else until the end of the day. He was gathering his things from his locker as Clyde whined away at Craig next to him about the mountain of physics homework he had to complete. He was no doubt looking for extra help, or for his bestie to do it for him, but was getting nowhere. 

Before Tweek had the chance to turn and tell them he was ready to go someone had stopped in front of him. 

Kenny was a good few inches taller than Tweek, though Tweek was also one of the shortest boys in their class so it wasn’t difficult (he got his height from his father, unfortunately). He had a dusting of freckles across his face, and in the same way he had given Karen his old orange parka once it got too small for him, Kevin had dug out an old, worn denim jacket with a woollen collar that looked like it came from the 80’s to gift to Kenny when he got old enough. 

“Hey!” 

Tweek narrowed his eyes at the bright smile he was pinned with. “Hello.” 

“So, uh,” Kenny rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. “I’ve been looking for people who wouldn’t mind letting me do their hair for them, and Bebe said that you’d mentioned you wanted someone to do yours for you, so…” 

Tweek bristled. That sneaky, conniving, heartless-?! 

“Do you think I could do it for you?” 

“Absolutely  _not_.” 

Kenny looked positively crushed. “Wha-?! Why not?” 

“I do it myself.” 

“Oh, come on, dude! I’m not gonna charge you for it, unless you ask for something really weird, I just need to get practice in!” 

“ _Jesus_ I’m not a guinea pig!” Tweek barked back. “Go find someone else to threaten with scissors!” 

“I’m super careful! I promise! Did you see Butters today?” 

He did. Butters looked good. 

“That was  _all me_.” 

“I don’t do hairdressers! I don’t want to-to hand over my hair to some strange, faceless corporation for them to sell on to the highest bidder, man!” 

“I’m not a faceless corporation though, I’m Kenny! You’ve known me since we were in elementary!” 

It was a fair point. He had. 

“Look, I won’t take any of the hair. We could do it at your house, so that it all stays within the boundary of the Tweak Household, and I won’t cut it much, I promise! I just-I’m trying to get better at it, so that when a job comes up at the hairdressers at the Mall or something I’m more likely to get it!” 

It was no secret that Kenny had jobs, plural. Kenny had applied for their coffee shop before, though his father insisted that they didn’t need an extra hand. It was a family run business, apparently. They had a brand to adhere to. Instead Kenny worked an assortment of entry level part time jobs to get extra cash, picking up extra shifts whenever any of his friends or family had birthdays due. 

“I dunno…” Tweek adverted his eyes from the baby blues that were pleading with him. “I’m not really…there’s probably people better suited to it than me.” 

“Tweek.” 

The sincerity in his voice had Tweek turning back to him. It was a grave mistake. 

Those baby blues were wide and glittery, brows pulled together and the slightest of pouts to complete his puppy dog look. Kenny could probably convince the devil himself to let him cut his hair, never mind  _Tweek_ _Tweak_. 

“I don’t want to make you do anything you’re not comfortable with, so if you really don’t want me to, that’s fine. But please, consider it?” 

There was no way he could’ve ever stood up to him. None at all. He was a goner as soon as Kenny had set his sights on him. 

“Fine,” Tweek sighed out. “But no razors! Bring a razor anywhere near me and I’ll cut off your fucking fingers, McCormick.” 

The sunshine smile that he got in return sent his heart soaring. Kenny rushed forward and scooped Tweek into a bone-crushing hug before he pulled back and squeezed his shoulders. “You won’t regret it, I promise! I’ll text you to find out when you’re free, yeah?” 

“Sure let me just get my number from-!” 

“Don’t worry about it, Bebe already gave it to me.” 

Of  _fucking_ course she did. 

“Seriously, I owe you big time, dude. Thanks!” 

He watched as the blonde boy jogged off down the corridor, seeing Bebe at the other end. Tweek was ready to run after him so that he could join him with Bebe and then smack a bitch. 

“Dude.” 

He snapped his head round to where his two friends were waiting for him and felt his face begin to heat up at the gaping mouths and incredulous looks they were giving him. 

“What?!” Tweek raised a hand to his nose in an attempt to hide the blush. “What is it?!” 

“Did you just-?!” 

Craig pressed a hand to Clyde’s chest, face taking on a solemn look. “Let’s not make a big deal out of it. At least not till it’s too late for him to change his mind.” 

“You’re right. You’re quite right. We should just go on like it’s a normal day.” 

“It is a normal day, you fucking assholes!” Tweek snapped, landing a solid punch into Craig’s shoulder, who simply laughed in response. “Jesus Christ, let’s  _go_. I’m gonna be late for my shift.” 

At least the pair did drop the subject. Instead they met Jimmy and Token by Token’s car, the trio piling into the back and allowing the owner of the car to drive them to Tweak Bro’s coffee shop, where Tweek made a mad dash to start his shift and his four tagalongs found a table at the back. Clyde was the nominated person to buy the drinks that day, though Clyde was usually the nominated person to buy the drinks when his mom was on shift, because he usually nominated himself. Fucking creep. 

Tweek tried not to dwell on his new hair appointment with his classmate too much. It wasn’t like it was the end of the world. There was still time to back out. 

\--

_Hey! It’s Kenny! You free tonight??_ _Whenever’s_ _good my dude._

He was totally freaking out. 

He’d agreed (like an idiot) and set a time (like an idiot) and given Kenny his postcode (like an idiot because Kenny  _knew where he lived already_ ). There was officially no backing out. Well, there was still time to back out, but that would just be a douche move, and then he’d be a douche and being known for pulling that douche move on Kenny when all the boy wanted was practice to get a job to get a present for his baby sister was  _not okay_. 

So he was in it. He was going to let some random-ass weirdo near his hair. 

“It’s not that bad,” Wendy tried to reason. “Kenny’s a pretty sensible boy.” 

Tweek gave her a  _look_. 

“He can be sensible, when he wants to be. Just…Kyle, you’re good friends with Kenny!” 

The redhead looked up from his text book, brown eyes flickering between Wendy and Tweek. “Uh…yeah?” 

“Are you-were you even listening?!” 

“Wendy, I’m trying to do calculus homework here, you give me far too much credit if you think I can do that  _and_ keep up with the conversation.” 

She rolled her eyes at that. “Tweek’s letting Kenny cut his hair, and is nervous. I was  _hoping_ you could give him a bit of moral support!” 

Kyle turned to Tweek with a stony face. “Don’t let him into your room. He’s a filthy panty sniffer.” 

“ _Kyle_!” 

“But apart from that he’s pretty cool. Talented, that’s for sure. I wish he’d stop learning a million different things and just pick one thing to be good at.” 

Tweek furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, college is expensive, which means he’s gonna get an apprenticeship or a job after high school instead, and his brother Kevin had  _such_ a hard time finding a job, so Kenny’s decided that if he learns to be good at a lot of things he’s got more job prospects, right?” 

It made sense. 

“But he’s just gonna burn himself out. He needs to just-pick something he really enjoys and stick at it. Have a passion and turn it into work. Stop filling himself with so much information he doesn’t even wanna use!” 

Wendy pinched the bridge of her nose. “Sometimes I wish I could record you saying things and play it back to you.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“That you’re-it doesn’t matter. Thanks for the vote of confidence in Kenny.” 

“Sure. Can I…?” 

“Yes, yes, go back to your calculus.” 

Kyle’s head was down as he scribbled away on the page. 

Wendy turned back to Tweek looking a little put out. “I don’t know if that made you feel any better?” 

Tweek shrugged. “I mean, the sentiment was nice?” 

“Well, that’ll have to do I guess. Do you wanna go sneak into Mr Pochard’s office and use his coffee maker?” 

_That_ was something that would make him feel better. 

The time was fast approaching as the end of the day, and the final bell signalled the first milestone that would lead to someone brandishing scissors near his ears. He caught Kenny’s eyes on the way out of the doors, the blonde giving an all too energetic wave and calling out that he’d be there by eight o’clock. 

All four of his carpooling buddies turned and looked at him silently. He groaned to the heavens before marching off to where Token’s car was parked. 

It wasn’t a  _big deal_. 

(It was totally a big deal). 

Tweek’s parents were working at the coffee shop when he got home, while he got Wednesdays off to work on homework. Instead of instantly starting on his homework he took to tidying up his bathroom so it was ready for Kenny to arrive. He hesitated as he came to his bedroom however. It  _was_ a mess, and he didn’t want Kenny thinking he was a total slob, but Kyle had also warned him not to invite him into his room. 

It was okay. He always kept tabs on how many pairs of underwear he had. He’d  _know_. 

True to his word at eight o’clock there was a knocking on the Tweak’s door. Tweek rubbed his palms on his jeans as he went to open it in hopes of getting rid of the sweat building up, and puffed out his chest to fake confidence as he opened the door. 

Kenny stood there, denim jacket pulled on over his City Wok uniform, chest heaving and his cheeks flushed. 

Tweek eyed a particularly dark looking stain on the whine apron. 

“Sorry, I ended up finishing my shift late so I didn’t have time to change.” 

“That’s fine. You can use my ro-uh-bathroom.” 

“Sweet.” 

He welcomed Kenny in and guided him upstairs, explaining he’d made room on the bathroom counter for whatever hair stuff Kenny needed. The blonde nodded gratefully before he shrugged off his jacket and began to strip out his uniform. 

“Let me know when you’re done!” Tweek squeaked out in a rush before he slammed the door closed. Kenny really didn’t have any shame. 

It wasn’t long before Kenny re-emerged to find Tweek pacing the hallway. The guest called him in with a warm smile and subdued tone. Tweek was pleased to see that the new t-shirt appeared freshly washed. 

“This is what I brought with me,” Kenny explained as they huddled round the counter. “Is there any particular hairstyle you want?” 

Tweek was about to answer without question that he didn’t care, because usually he didn’t. But usually he was doing it himself and didn’t have the option to do anything fancy. This wasn’t usually. 

“I’ve never…” 

Kenny waited with a patient smile on his face. 

“I do it myself,” Tweek explained as he brushed a hand through the locks at the back of his neck. “So I just-I cut the end of a ponytail off.” 

“You don’t do a half bad job.” 

“Thanks…but it means it’s always, like, around my neck.” 

Kenny hummed softly, moving to stand behind Tweek. He raised his hands into position before locking Tweek’s hazel gaze in the mirror with an odd intensity. “Can I?” 

Tweek nodded. His throat was too dry to speak. 

Kenny’s fingers brushed through the tangled mess that was on top of his head. He pushed and shifted the way it settled on top, gently teasing out some of the knots, before he brought his hands forward and combed his fingers through from the front all the way to the back, revealing Tweek’s forehead to the world. 

“You usually pin it back when you work, don’t you?” 

“Yeah. But-I don’t want it super short at the front,” Tweek murmured. “It’s-I look weird. I don’t-!” 

“That’s fine, that’s not what I was thinking about. I think you look good with it longer at the front. It frames your face nicely.” 

He wasn’t sure how many compliments usually went with hairdressing. Probably a few. He hadn’t been in so long. 

“Your hair is more damaged than the Goth Kids combined, though.” 

“Hey!” 

Kenny let out a bark of laughter. “Sorry, but it’s true! Can I wash it?” 

“You-you want to  _wash my hair_?!” 

“Yeah! Hairdressers do it all the time, makes it easier to cut.” 

Tweek fidgeted under the intense gaze in the mirror. Kenny smirked and rested his chin on Tweek’s shoulder, taking hold of his upper arms. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle.” 

“Fine!” 

He wasn’t prepared. 

Nothing could’ve prepared him. Tweek cast his thoughts back to Kyle’s words on Kenny learning many different skills and he wondered if learning how to massage was included in that because he felt like he was in heaven. 

Getting the right position had been difficult, though more so for Kenny. They’d got the desk chair from Tweek’s room and he laid back with is head in the sink while Kenny awkwardly perched on the counter, but when Tweek’s eyes were shut it was hard to notice. And it was hard to open them when he was too busy enjoying the feeling of the boy’s fingertips pressing down on his scalp, massaging away his stress at his temples, and soaping up his hair. 

He went through three different bottles of shampoo and conditioner or whatever, and when he announced he was done, Tweek almost let out an upset whine.  _Almost_. But he didn’t. 

Instead he sat up and allowed Kenny to get to work. 

\--

He had been tempted to wear a hat. Not because Kenny had done a bad job, but because he felt so wildly different. Kenny had complimented his naturally quite wavy, almost curly hair that he got from his dad, before showing him how to style it if he wanted to. While he hadn’t wanted to he’d entertained the boy before his parents got home and he promptly kicked Kenny out his house, save him the embarrassment of his father and mother greeting one of his friends. 

The reason he’d been tempted to wear a hat is because he  _knew_ everyone was gonna make a big deal, but everyone already knew Kenny had cut his hair the night before, so it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. 

He heard the beeping of Token’s horn and groaned as he left the house to go outside. He chickened out at the last minute and pulled the hood of his blue sweatshirt over his head, zipping it up high and going straight to the car. He got in the back, scrambling into the middle before Token drove in silence to the street where Jimmy, Craig, and Clyde lived. 

“Oh c-c-c-come on, Tweek! Don’t be-don’t be a-don’t be a cock tease.” 

Tweek glared at Jimmy as the brunette turned to face him from the passenger seat. 

“It can’t be  _that_ b-bad!” 

“It’s not!” Tweek hissed as he felt his face flush. “It’s just weird.” 

Token cleared his throat as he attempted to look nonchalant. “I have been wondering…” 

But he had waited for someone else to broach it, of  _course_. 

Neither of them had to wait long. As soon as the Disastrous Duo entered the car they were on him, Clyde pulling down his hood and Craig unzipping the top of his hoody. When he tried to defend himself Craig argued that it was technically  _his_ jacket that Tweek had stolen, so it was totally okay. 

The silence he was met with was deafening. 

“I told you!” he insisted. “It’s  _weird_!” 

“You look nice,” Craig assured, as honest as always. “He’s actually done a really good job.” 

“And he made it so soft!” Clyde cooed as he ran a hand through the electric locks. 

“Really? It doesn’t look…?” 

_Bad? Weird? Out of place? Suited for someone more attractive?_

Craig gave a soft smile and squeezed his shoulder. “It looks great, Tweek. Trust me.” 

He did. 

Their entire year seemed to be expecting something from him with how they seemed to gravitate over to stare in open shamelessness. When he heard a couple of girls gossiping quietly behind them he began to grow  _far too_ uncomfortable and thanked his lucky stars that Wendy showed up in that moment, scaring the pair off with the help of Craig. 

She gave him a wide smile and nodded appreciatively. “Looks good. Ready for English?” 

That was all he heard about it from her, and he was happy with that. 

Bebe though? She was an entirely different story. 

He sat down with Wendy for lunch and there was a loud  _smack_ of a lunch tray hitting the table as Bebe arrived. Her eyes were practically glistening with excitement as they roamed over his head and finally settled on his face. She’d barely even opened her mouth before another girl cut her off. 

“What did I say literally five seconds ago?” 

“Nic _ole_!” Bebe whined out. “I wasn’t gonna make a big deal!” 

The dark haired girl raised a brow as she sat down. “Really? Cause it sure looked like it.” 

“I was just gonna say about how dashing Tweek looks today!” 

Nicole rolled her eyes and turned to Tweek. “Are you happy with it?” 

Kenny had been the only other person to ask him that. He was kind of grateful for it. “Uh, yeah, I am.” 

“Good. That’s the main thing.” 

“Was it as bad as you thought it would be?” Bebe pressed. 

“Not-I mean, a little? I guess? Not, like, that bad.” 

“That’s one step closer to spa-day!” 

“Bebe!” 

She held up her hands in defence. “Sorry! I was joking!” 

Kyle’s reaction had been the most surprising. He’d drawn to a halt by their lunch table, jaw clenched as he looked at the mess on Tweek’s head. The stare was enough to make Tweek’s fingers twitch as he held his breath and waited for whatever it was Kyle was about to spit out good  _god why wasn’t he spitting it out_? 

“Did Kenny do your hair?” Kyle asked as though he hadn’t just been gaping like a creeper. 

“Yeah!” 

“Huh. Cool.” 

The four watched as Kyle walked off to meet his friends, sliding in the seat next to Stan and opposite Clyde. It wasn’t till Red and Kevin arrived and took their seats that they all began chattering away again. Tweek still felt a little weirded out by the whole ordeal. 

Kenny later caught him by his locker to explain however, all but crashing into the locker next to his own with a wide grin. Tweek let out a startled shriek at the action and nearly dropped his books. 

“Tweek!” 

“What the  _fuck_?!” 

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.” 

“Jesus  _Christ_ , man, just-don’t sneak up on me! Or-collide with the lockers either!” 

“No problem!” Kenny moved on quickly. “I wanted to say thank you!” 

“For what? What did I do?” 

“For letting me do your hair! I’ve had three people come up today and ask me to do theirs, after seeing you and Butters.” 

“Oh…well, you’re welcome.” 

Kenny’s eyes roamed across the top of his head, a lopsided smile settling on the blue eyed boy’s face. “Y’know, I could style it for you too, if you want?” 

“What?!” 

“Like, with hair wax and stuff. So that it stays out your face properly.” 

He was tempted. He was mostly tempted because he wanted Kenny to wash his hair again with those magical fingers of his, but it was also a waste of time. He had a headband, he didn’t need it to be kept out his face with  _wax_ , made up of various unknown chemicals, thank you. “I’ll think about it.” 

“Sure. Well, I’ll catch you round, Tweek.” 

Throughout his shift at work people were complimenting his new haircut, which he really didn’t think was  _that_ big of a deal. He spent his break at the table with his friends, listening as they argued amongst themselves on which movie they wanted to watch that weekend. He sniggered along with Jimmy as Craig and Clyde got into an argument on whether the brunette was allowed to invite Heidi or if it would make the group too big to handle. 

“I just think it would be nice!” Clyde defended. “If Heidi could come with us!” 

“Then she’d probably want to drag along one of her friends, and that means we’d all have to agree on a film. It’s hard enough with just you assholes.” 

Token, always the voice of reason, stepped up. “I think it’s a good idea. It’s been a while since we did a big movie thing with the others.” 

“You just wanna invite Lola, Token, don’t try to trick me.” 

Tweek finally spoke up. “I think it wouldn’t be all bad. Wendy could come too!” 

“Sure, why don’t we just invite the entire fucking year?” 

“How about this, we’ll go this weekend the five of us, and then next weekend we can make a big group, and if you don’t wanna go you don’t have to.” 

Craig scowled across the table, but agreed nonetheless. Once they’d gone and the shop quietened down Tweek cracked on with his homework behind the counter, pleased that the weekend was just around the corner, even if it did mean he’d be working his Sunday, as the only one in the family who didn’t attend church. At least they didn’t make him go anymore. 

He was (sort of) blissfully unaware of the impending chaos that was going to happen the next week. He wasn’t sure anything would prepare him for exactly how disarming that charming crooked smile could be. 

\--

Craig and Clyde were gathered around his locker, which they did far too often if Tweek was honest, chattering away about something he really didn’t care about. It was Tuesday morning, the second day back over the weekend. That’s all the time that Kenny McCormick and Eric Cartman needed, apparently. 

Craig’s sentence cut off half way. Tweek finally turned his attention to his friend as he and Clyde watched the steely grey eyes snap to the other side of the corridor, his brow furrowing as he stared. His two companions turned to follow his line of sight to see Kyle Broflovski standing on the other side of the hall chattering away with Stan and Davíd. 

“Have we told Stan’s gang that we’re doing a movie thing on Saturday?” 

Clyde turned back to his bestie with a doubtful look. “Uh, I think so? I can’t remember if they’re coming or not. I kinda just told everyone and figured we’d find out who would be there on the day.” 

“Cool.” 

And with that Craig was marching across the hall to where the redhead stood. 

It was amazing what a haircut could do. Tweek and Clyde stood, leaning against the lockers as they watched Craig talk to Kyle. The redheaded mess of an afro was perfectly styled, back and sides shaved so it didn’t look like someone had hot glued a red cloud to his head anymore. While his fashion sense could still only be described as  _practical_ , with plaid shirts and cargo pants, his hair now looked like he’d put a bit of care into it. 

Bebe was the next one who had been given the McCormick treatment that weekend. She had arrived with fluttering eyelashes and, surprisingly, perfect pink lipstick instead of her usual darker choices. It didn’t take long to discover why. 

“I can’t believe you finally dyed your hair.” 

She let out a little squeak of approval at Red’s observation. “I know! Look at it! He’s done such an incredible job!” 

Flowing through the blonde locks were various shades of pink that he imagined would be hell to upkeep. She prattled on about how they chose the pink, even though she often wore red, but that she’d convinced her mother this was the perfect time to invest in new clothes to match her new hair. Her mother really was a sucker for anything to do with making Bebe prettier. 

Later that day he caught Bebe gloating about her colours to Butters as she quickly convinced him that his own hair could be spruced up easily with some baby blue, no matter what the consequence from his parents might be. 

But the biggest surprise of them all came at the end of the day, in his last class. He’d spent his lunch period with Bradley and Jason that day, so it was the first class they were sharing. He didn’t even think about it till she was standing in front of his desk with her arms folded like she usually did when she was a bit nervous. 

“How-how does it look?” 

He looked up to see Wendy Testaburger in front of him with less hair on her head than Clyde had. 

“Holy  _shit_!” 

She grimaced at his exclamation. “Is it too much? I was worried it would be too much. I-I dunno, I just get so tired of it all the time, so…” 

“It’s not too much! You look really good!” 

A nervous smile. “You think so?” 

“Yeah! It’s very you.” 

She ran a hand through her chopped locks and sat down next to him, rooting through her bag for her trademark pink hat. “Thanks. It does feel a lot better. I’m lucky he managed to fit me in, it sure was busy in there considering it’s only been open two days.” 

“What’s…open?” 

She snapped her eyes to the front to check on their teacher before leaning in close. “I know I usually despise anything Cartman’s involved in on principle of his business ventures are usually ethically questionable, but I couldn’t stop myself this time. He and Kenny have opened up a hairdressing salon in the boy’s changing rooms out by the football field, seeing as the only ones that are used during lunch are the ones by the indoor gym.” 

“And you  _went_?!” 

“Yes! After seeing your hair, and then Bebe’s hair, I couldn’t not! And it only cost like six bucks,  which is  _so much_ cheaper than going to the hairdressers.” 

“Are you worried Cartman’s, like, collecting everyone’s hair or something weird like that?!” 

“I mean, now that you’ve said that? Yes, I am. But it’s too late to look back, and I’m-I’m  _really happy_.” 

He had to admit: she looked so super pretty with short hair like that. 

“Besides, if we’re all having a big get together this weekend, I wanna look my best!” 

“Shit I forgot about that!” 

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll keep you reminded. I know Heidi mentioned she might go and get hers done before the weeks up to, something about wanting to impress a certain brunette friend of yours.” 

He rolled his eyes at that. They were  _hopeless_. 

“So I guess we’re all getting our hair styled for it.” 

It was what triggered the memory of Kenny offering to style his hair. He spent the better part of the class thinking about it till the bell went and he met Token by the boy’s locker, Clyde by his side. Jimmy always worked on the school newspaper on Tuesday evenings, and Craig had opted out of the lift so he could visit the brand new school salon, which apparently relocated itself depending on the time of day, given it was now in the empty science lab. 

He tried to push it out his mind. He really did. But  _Kyle_ had done it, and  _Bebe_ had done it, and Wendy and Heidi and even Craig, and then he had to listen to Clyde wonder if it was worth booking in so he looked his best for their movie day and he was a bit of a sucker for peer pressure. He wanted to fit in and be as innocuous as possible, which often meant he went with the crowd. 

He managed to last till Friday at least, when he approached the cafeteria after class, gripping his bag tightly as he stared at the imposing doors. He sucked in a breath and prepared himself for – for  _what_ exactly? 

For Kenny. That’s what. 

He entered and was shocked to find two tables full of students gossiping amongst themselves, some with brand new hairstyles and some either waiting for their friends to finish or waiting for their turn. While he expected Kenny he got both Kenny and Red, who turned to give him a brief nod of her head before she continued to tackle the mess of brown hair that settled on Clyde’s head. 

“Mr Tweak, so nice of you to visit us! Can’t resist the pull of our prized McCormick styling, I see.” 

Tweek didn’t scream with shock, but he did let out a small hum that was him suppressing the scream. “Cartman!” 

The larger boy was set up on a table of his own, a cash box by his side along with a folder full of papers, his homework pushed to the side temporarily. “So, what is it you’d like to have done? I’m afraid we’re fully booked for this afternoon, however I can see if we can have a space for you first thing next week?” 

Next week?! Next week was too late! The movie day was  _tomorrow_! 

“Are you wanting to specifically see Kenny, or would you be happy settling for Red?” 

“Hey!” the girl called out from her place. “Shut the fuck up, fatass!” 

“Don’t make me dock your pay for insubordination, woman!” 

She snarled, but continued to work in silence. 

Tweek turned to Cartman with a flush in his cheeks. “It doesn’t matter. I changed my mind.” 

Before he had a chance to go for the exit he was stopped. Kenny McCormick came skidding to a halt in front of him, lazy smile on his face and strands of dark hair scattered across his white shirt. “Woah, don’t worry my dude, I can fit you in.” 

“Kenny, you cannot fit Tweek in. You have two other people to do, and one hour to do them in.” 

“Yeah, but Tweek doesn’t need a haircut, right? You just want it styling?” Kenny pressed. “I can teach you how, it’ll take ten minutes. Please, Cartman? I’ll be super fast I promise!” 

“Fine, but if you can’t finish all your customers, then I’m docking your pay.” 

“Agreed! Come sit over here, I’ll sort you out as soon as I finish Esther.” 

Tweek sat at the table that unfortunately left him in an awkward staring contest with Esther for a few minutes before his eyes drifted behind her to the blonde working away. It wasn’t long before Cartman appeared with a mirror, barking out that if he was going to sit there all gormless like he might as well do it while being useful, and had him hold it up for Esther to look at as Kenny continued with her hair. 

It was incredible to watch as she transformed before him. She asked him once or twice if he thought it looked nice so far, to which he politely nodded even though he didn’t know jack shit about hairdressing. Apparently holding a mirror included him as staff, which meant he  _must_ know. 

He never really noticed the dusting of freckles across Kenny’s cheeks, which weren’t nearly as pale as everyone else’s. Probably attributed to the fact the McCormick siblings often played around outside, or worked on fixing up the old SoDoSoPa structure that had been built around their house during one of the town’s cultural fads. His hands were deftly working and Tweek felt a pang of jealousy as he watched them run through Esther’s dark locks slowly. 

When she was all finished and stood up to get a better look in the mirror Tweek was holding she ran to Cartman with a wide smile and a wad of cash. 

Kenny turned to him with a wide smile. “Your turn?” 

“Oh-uh, you can finish the others first if you want. I don’t mind, man. I was here last.” 

With a nod of his head Kenny called his next customer, a senior Tweek didn’t recognise. He continued to watch Kenny work away, enjoying the lazy smile that seemed permanently etched onto his face, and the way his eyes seemed to light up when a song he particularly liked started playing on the mini speaker attached to Red’s phone. 

When the final customer stepped up to the mark he made casual conversation, Dougie looking a little nervous about the whole thing. Kenny had a way of putting you at ease. He wasn’t even talking directly to Tweek and the blonde already felt calmer than he had when he first walked in. 

When Dougie was out the door Red was finishing up her own final client, Cartman counting the money from the till and separating it into piles. When Kenny turned to him with that bright, crooked smile, he felt a little piece of his soul  _melt_ into a puddle. 

“You’re up, cowboy. Styling tips, yeah?” 

He put the mirror down next to him. “Uh, yeah. Everyone’s- _nnn_ -really excited for this movie thing tomorrow, and they’re all trying really hard and I don’t wanna, like, bring the tone down, man!” 

“Cool, so you want a casual kinda style. No problem. You want it out your eyes?” 

He nodded rapidly. 

“Alright, hold up that mirror in front of you, and I’ll work on it from behind so you can see what I’m doing.” 

It was kind of amazing. Even from an awkward angle Kenny could work his magic on the untameable nest that sat on top of his head. He spoke quietly as to not disturb Cartman from his counting presumably, straight into Tweek’s ear in a way that sent a shiver straight down his spine. By the time he finished Tweek was looking at a whole new person. 

It was still messy, he would’ve been a bit disturbed if it wasn’t, but it the wavy locks were pushed back and to the side, revealing his large hazel eyes to the world. And they  _stayed_ there, even when he shook his head rapidly to check. It was a miracle. 

“Almost complete.” 

“What?!” Tweek spun round to find Kenny had disappeared to where Cartman sat. “What else has to happen?!” 

His breath was caught in his throat as he watched Kenny pull his denim jacket from beneath the table and began walking over. He instructed Tweek to ditch the blue hoody that he wore almost religiously, before he gave a sheepish smile and held the jacket up. 

“I-uh-it’s clean. I promise. I look after it pretty well.” 

Tweek put his arms through the sleeves, letting Kenny drop the jacket onto his shoulders. He turned as he was told to and watched with wide eyes as Kenny adjusted the front before he took a step back to admire his handiwork. Tweek was sure he was going to start going purple from holding his breath so long.

“Is it-uh, are you okay?” 

“Fine!” Tweek squeaked out. “Is this-don’t you  _need this_?!” 

“Nah, I’ll be fine!” Kenny assured, reaching behind Tweek for the blue hoody which he pulled on, fitting his longer arms only marginally better than it had Tweek’s. “See? We’ll just swap.” 

“But this is yours! Your brother’s!” 

“It’s just for the weekend, don’t worry about it. It’ll be fun. Besides,” Kenny gave a wink and a leering grin. “You look pretty damn smokin’ in it.” 

“Kenny!” Cartman snapped from his place at the table. “What have I told you about flirting with the customers?!” 

“He’s not a customer, I was just giving him some free tips.” 

“Free-?! Wha-?! We’re not operating a  _charity_ for the fashionably tragic here!” 

Kenny turned to Tweek with an awkward laugh. “You-uh-should probably go before he shakes you for your lunch money.” 

He didn’t need to be told twice. Tweek darted out the doors to the cafeteria as Cartman began to shout obscenities and was well on his way to home. He spent his afternoon finishing up most of his homework while texting Craig and Wendy, the latter who wanted to head to the cinema together. 

A good part of his evening was spent enjoying the way the woollen lining of the denim jacket felt against his arms, and the way it smelt when he held it close. 

\--

Tweek was a very emotional guy. When he felt things he felt things  _hard_ , and fast, and loud. He liked to think that he was pretty in tune with his own emotions too, that he knew what he was feeling when he felt them. 

It was his mother who made him aware. She gave a little offhanded comment about how lovely he looked, and if there was a special boy he was going to meet that merited the extra effort. He flushed a bright red, fumbled through an excuse, and tried not to look too hard into the fact that all he could think of at her question was  _Kenny_ _Kenny_ _Kenny_ _Kenny_ -! 

Wendy’s jaw dropping as he stepped out the house didn’t help. 

“Let’s go!” he hissed out. “I gotta get  _out_ of here!” 

She didn’t comment straight away. Wisely kept her mouth shut, but he could feel her eyes on his back. Or specifically on the item of clothing that was on his back. It was a matter of time before curiosity broke her down and she asked so he was hoping they made it to the cinema before that happened. 

They didn’t. 

“I’ve got to know, is that Kenny’s jacket?” 

“Yes!” Tweek snapped. “He let me borrow it! He said it went with my hair…” 

“He was right. It does. You look really good, Tweek.” 

That didn’t help the embarrassment written across his face in bright red ink either. 

There were already a few people gathered outside the cinema when they arrived. Unsurprisingly Heidi was there, being one of the few who were always early, along with Kyle and Stan. While Heidi didn’t seem to notice, Kyle and Stan could probably recognise it a mile off. 

“Kenny mentioned he’d let you borrow his jacket. Looks good on you,” Kyle complimented. 

Stan snorted. “Better on you than him, that’s for sure. You should keep it.” 

Butters was thankfully too busy bumbling his way through a conversation with Cartman when he arrived, who had already seen the addition of the jacket. He barely gave Tweek a passing glance as they arrived and Butters became distracted by Heidi’s cute little ponytail and decorative collar. 

Craig and co. came next, a rainbow assortment of strange friends that stuck together due to time and lack of alternatives. Tweek took a breath in, and out, calming himself for what was about to come. 

“Holy  _shitballs_ , Tweek, nice  _jacket_!” 

“Ye-ye-yeah, Tweek. This you trading the old in f-f-for the-for the-for the new?” 

Craig smacked the pair round the back of their heads as they approached the group. Token approached him with a kind smile and a pat on the shoulder. 

“Lookin’ good, Tweek. Nice to see you coming out your shell a little.” 

“Yeah, sure.” 

It was hell. He hadn’t even considered it. But then his mother  _said it_ and then Clyde and Jimmy  _said it_ and now all he could think about was how pleasant the butterflies in his stomach had been cuddled on the couch last night wrapped in the warmth that was  _Kenny McCormick’s jacket_  and he was so, so screwed and-?! 

“Sorry I’m running late!” 

He was so screwed and Kenny was wearing  _his_ jacket. 

The blonde had a wide, toothy grin on his face as his eyes locked with Tweek, and he made a beeline for him. He had a green scarf wrapped round his neck to accompany the blue hoody, and while they all knew the McCormicks had little access to nice clothes, they also knew that Kenny had learnt how to make it work for him. He had little other options, Tweek supposed. 

When Kenny came to a stop by his side he felt like the world had fallen silent. Or maybe that was just because so many of their friends were staring at them. 

What was  _happening_?! 

“You manage alright with styling your hair?” 

Tweek gave a shy nod. “Yeah. Thanks for helping me yesterday.” 

“Anytime, my dude. You’ve got real nice hair to work with.” 

He knew that it was just a generic hairstylist compliment but it still brought a smile to his face. “Thanks. I like your scarf.” 

Kenny ran a hand over the knitted accessory. “My sister made it for me, last year. She’s really talented.” 

“Yeah, she is.” 

He could stare at the lazy smile that spread across Kenny’s face for hours. 

“Wow, this just got  _way_ too faggy for me.” 

“Shut the fuck up, fatass!” 

“Ey! Don’t call me fat, ya du-!” 

“Guys, let’s like, not today? That’d be great.” 

“Stay out of it, Stan.” 

“Yeah,  _Stan_ , stay out of it!” 

Kenny gave a bark of laughter and left Tweek’s side in favour of joining his oldest friends with their banter. Tweek found himself a little out of breath. 

“You alright?” 

He glanced to where Wendy was stood, leaning in to him with a smile that was probably to make the conversation look less serious. She did that a lot. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” 

“Good. But we’re  _totally_ talking about this later.” 

The whirlwind of emotions in his heart seemed to snowball from there. Kenny approached him with another charming smile he couldn’t deny and asked if he wanted to sit next to him during the film, on the other side having Clyde who was too busy making a move on Heidi to provide any reasonable distraction to the fact that his arm was pressed flush against Kenny’s through the second half of the movie, warming him up to temperatures he might faint with. It probably would’ve helped if he discarded the snug denim jacket, but he just couldn’t part with it. 

A silent decision was made to go to Freeman’s Tacos for food after, splitting up into groups as they walked round the block. He was thankful that Kenny’s attention was drawn away from him by Clyde and Stan’s shenanigans, and instead he ended up chilling with Wendy, Craig, and Kyle. It was really more him and Wendy if he was honest. 

“Let me get it.” 

Tweek startled at the offer, spinning round to see Kenny behind him in the queue. “What?!” 

“Let me get it for you. My treat!” 

“I couldn’t-it’s fine. I have money.” 

“I insist! Think of it as a thank you for helping me get so many customers so quickly.” 

“That was all you, dude. You’re the one with the talent.” 

Kenny gave a nervous laugh. “Yeah, well, I couldn’t have done it without you. I brought extra, so I could. Please?” 

He reluctantly agreed, thus binding his place in the queue to Kenny’s. He approached the counter at the same time and reflexively went to reach for a lock of hair to pull in front of his face as protection, or something to hide behind, only to remember his whole face was on  _fucking_ show because his  _fucking_ hair was  _fucking_ styled. 

“What do you want?” 

He prattled off his usual order and waited with Kenny, a comfortable silence settling over them. He looked up to see the freckled cheeks raised with the small smile and had the urge to do  _something_. Anything. He had to-to make conversation! To be interesting! 

“ _Nng_ _-d_ id you like the film?” 

Kenny looked down with bright eyes. “Yeah, it was fucking sweet. I love action movies!” 

“Me too.” 

Where he lacked in conversational skills, Kenny excelled. Not that the taller blonde was particularly talkative, he was probably one of the quieter kids in their year, but he didn’t find it difficult to talk about stuff he enjoyed, be it from his favourite part of the movie or the way the hot actress looked in a mini-skirt. 

“And that main guy? Fuck me, yes.” 

Tweek startled at that. “The main guy?” 

“Yeah, didn’t you think he was hot?” 

“I mean- _yeah_ , I guess, I just thought-that you-?!” 

“My pants are big enough for any person.” 

There was that  _wink_. That practiced, smooth,  _knee-melting_ -! 

“Oh! That’s ours!” 

Tweek found Kenny had a very negative impact on his lungs, given that so often he found he couldn’t breathe, or was short of breath. Maybe it was something in the water. Or maybe it was a hormone that Kenny gave off that stopped him breathing properly. He should ask Kyle. Kyle was good at biology and shit. 

They sat down at the same table as Craig and Kyle, the pair who were busy criticising the unrealistic aspects of the film they’d just watched. Kenny shot Tweek an exasperated look and gave a dramatic eye roll as they listened in, before he picked some salad out his burrito and threw it across the table at the redhead. 

“Oi, you two. Tone down your nerd-boners, school finished yesterday.” 

Craig glared daggers across the table. “Alright, fine. Why did you two swap jackets all of a sudden?” 

“You forfeited your right to this hoody a long time ago, Tucker. It’s mine now.” 

“Answer the question, McCormick.” 

“I dunno. I was styling Tweek’s hair yesterday and thought it looked good with the denim.” 

Kyle nodded in approval. “You were right. It does.” 

Tweek gave a somewhat nervous smile. 

“Check it, Cartman still can’t handle people hitting on Heidi.” 

They turned to see Cartman make himself comfortable right next to the pair, his chair far closer than it needed to be. Clyde shot the other boy a nasty look across the table, while Heidi stuck her nose up in the air at his actions. 

“Dude, it’s been seven years. You’d think he’d be over it by now,” Craig mused. 

“No way. Cartman’s that kid who doesn’t want his sandwich, but doesn’t want anyone  _else_ to have his sandwich.” 

“He’s literally that kid, Kenny. We’ve watched him do that. But Heidi isn’t a sandwich, she’s a person who can make her own decisions.” 

They watched as Cartman made a barbing comment about Heidi’s food, probably about the vegan contents it held. Tweek and Craig exchanged a quick glance of amusement before watching Clyde step up to the plate. 

The boy had been boasting about how he’d been learning different vegan options that the local restaurants (or takeaways) held. The look of displeasure that crossed Cartman’s face at whatever Clyde was bragging about was pure gold. 

The awed smile that crossed Heidi’s face was practically coo-worthy. 

Wendy soon sat down at the table with them, forcing Tweek closer to Kenny as she did so, before Stan was settling down between Kyle and Kenny. The conversation flowed smoothly from there. 

He was one of the first to leave, as he was also one of the ones who had work the next day. Kenny had offered to walk with him, but he had declined as he already planned to walk home with Wendy, and as much as he was enjoying the boy’s company he felt like he might explode if they were walking home together. 

She apparently decided she wasn’t going to talk to him about Kenny there and then, instead choosing the topic of homework, and asking if he wanted to work on it at hers the next day after his shift. It was her trap to get him in a position he couldn’t run away from, he was sure of it, but he agreed anyway. Maybe it would help to talk about it. 

Craig was less subtle. 

“So, you’ve got the hots for Kenny?” 

Tweek gestured wildly in the air to express his dislike of Craig deciding to ask this question on a  _Sunday afternoon_ in the middle of his  _fucking coffee shop_ where people existed. “Shut  _up_!” 

“What? It’s just a question.” 

“It’s not just a question you fucking  _asshole_! Jesus Christ, man, you’re gonna get me caught!” 

Craig wanted to roll his eyes. He could feel it. But he didn’t. Instead he calmly said: “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to risk you getting caught.” 

“That’s fine, whatever. It’s quiet, I guess…” 

“So, do you?” 

He  _glowered_. 

“What? I’m curious!” 

“I don’t- _nng_ -this is-! I don’t know. Maybe?” 

“Maybe?” 

“I haven’t really thought about it much.” 

“What’s there to think about? It’s a pretty simple question, do you think of him like you think of Clyde, or do you wanna go on a romantic boat ride while also riding his dick?” 

“Why are you  _like this_?” 

Craig shrugged. 

“I mean-I don’t really think of him like Clyde, so…” 

“So, the second option?” 

He tried to hide his red face behind his hand. “Yeah. The second option. I think.” 

“If it helps, I’m pretty sure he wants that too.” 

“Are you kidding?!” Tweek clamped a hand over his mouth to try calm himself down and get his volume down to quiet instead of  _shouty_. “Me?! No way.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because-because-he’s a  _hopeless_ flirt! Everyone knows that!” 

“Yeah?” 

“And he hasn’t flirted with  _me_!” 

Craig looked ready to literally climb over the counter and punch him. 

“He hasn’t!” 

“He bought you a burrito.” 

“So?! It was to pay me back!” 

Craig scoffed. “For what, free advertisement? You can’t genuinely believe that.” 

He didn’t. But that wasn’t the point. 

“He gave you his  _jacket_ , and then wore  _yours_. He owns other jackets.” 

“Maybe he just liked mine!” 

“I think I’m within my rights to say this, seeing as it was originally mine, but that is not a nice hoody. It’s old, and it’s got a hole in the pocket. You just never wear a jacket yourself and I had to force something on you.” 

Tweek groaned loudly at the observation. 

“In my opinion, he totally wants to blow you. But that’s just my opinion.” 

“Well thanks, take your opinion and your iced-frappe and get out my shop.” 

“No. I’m gonna go sit down over there and make you feel uncomfortable for the rest of your shift.” 

“You know, I never asked you about  _Kyle_. How’s all that  _science_ talk going for you?” 

Apparently that was all it took to make Craig leave. He didn’t actually expect it to work. 

Visiting Wendy was no better. She began bombarding him with questions before her bedroom door was even closed, and when he told her about the conversation he’d had with Craig earlier that day she fully agreed with the Tucker boy. 

“He’s absolutely flirting with you,” she promised. “He did this with Bebe, too. You should go for it.” 

“I don’t  _want_ to go for it!” 

“That’s okay. Knowing him he won’t wait for you to make the first move. He’ll do it himself.” 

The thought of Kenny McCormick making a move on him was something that made him both want to sing to the heavens and have the pits of hell swallow him whole. After getting all the juicy info she wanted from him, Wendy finally agreed to homework, but by that point he was so wound up with nerves that he found it difficult to concentrate. She had the decency to look apologetic about it. It didn’t make it okay. 

\--

He spent a good twenty minutes staring at the jacket trying to decide if it would be weird to wear it again. He had to get it back to Kenny somehow, so he was going to have to take it into school anyway, and presumably Kenny would then give him his own back, so it did make sense to just wear it and then swap when they saw each other, right? 

But was that weird? He gave it to Tweek specifically for the movie day, so wearing it then to school may be him pushing it too far. Was it creepy to wear it again? He did like the way it felt, as though he was being hugged, but that was  _weird_. 

When his mother called him to let him know his friend Token had been outside for five minutes he grabbed the jacket and raced out the house with it in his arms. 

He was prepared for some kind of teasing when the troublesome trio were picked up. Jimmy got in the front as usual and gave a very pointed look to the jacket, but Clyde was already talking before anyone could comment on it. 

“I have a  _date_!” 

Craig groaned and kicked Token’s chair. “Drive, quick. I don’t want to listen to this  _again_.” 

Clyde regaled them with the story of how he’d walked Heidi home on Saturday night, and how impressed she’d been about his choice in the vegan option at Freeman’s Tacos, and how all that hard work learning the local restaurant menus had clearly paid off. She’d told him about a vegan place in Denver that she wanted to try out, but hadn’t found anyone to go with, which was his chance. 

“So I was like, I’d love to go with you, you can teach me more about this vegan stuff!” 

“Sounds more to me like-like she asked-she asked-she asked you out.” 

“Who cares, I have a date!” 

When they arrived at school it wasn’t long till Clyde had gravitated towards the girl, and it left the rest of them to watch on as they flirted with each other before class. Craig made a particularly scathing remark about it all, while Token rolled his eyes and requested they leave as quickly as possible. Tweek couldn’t agree more. 

“Hey!” 

He spun round to find Kenny behind him and rushed forward instantly. No one had mentioned his jacket yet, and now that Kenny was here he didn’t want to give them the chance to. He rushed forward and grasped hold of Kenny’s arm, spinning him round and pulling him away from his friends who finally started to turn their attention away from Clyde, but onto Tweek. 

“Woah! You okay?” 

“Fine,” Tweek grit out through his teeth. “Just-Craig’s being a jackass.” 

“Standard.” 

He didn’t stop until he was safely at the other end of the corridor, hidden from their view. He turned to Kenny and found himself caught out by the lazy smile once again. Instead of looking into the shining blue eyes he looked down to the jacket in his hands, pushing it forward. 

“I-uh-brought you your jacket!” 

“Damn, I knew there was something I was forgetting! I didn’t bring your hoody!” 

“That’s okay! I don’t need it.” 

“Nah, dude, it’s my bad. You keep hold of my jacket till I get you your hoody.” 

“Are you sure? Won’t you get cold?!” 

Kenny shrugged it off with a smirk. “You’ll just have to stay close so you can warm me up if I do.” 

It was like a kneejerk reaction to embarrassment: “If you get too cold it’s your own fucking fault. Deal with it yourself.” 

Kenny grasped his chest with a melodramatic gasp. “Tweek! Darlin’, you wound me.” 

“What did you want me for anyway?” 

“I was wondering if you minded being my assistant again during shop hours!” 

It took him a moment to realise what Kenny was talking about. Not that he’d forgotten about the little hairdressing salon, but he’d hardly consider what he did ‘assistant’ material. “To do what? Hold the mirror again?” 

“Yes, but other things too! And-I dunno-I thought it’d be nice to have company while I worked?” 

On one hand, it did just sound like he’d be holding the mirror again, for two hours, which wasn’t all that appealing. On the other hand, this was  _Kenny_ asking if he’d be the company the other blonde was looking for. He’d get a chance to watch him work once again, which was so enchanting last time.

He was answering before he could stop himself. 

“Sure, why not?” 

The wide smile that lit up Kenny’s face was priceless. “Great! I don’t expect you to do it during lunch, but after school we’re gonna hold it in the cafeteria again?” 

“I can do that.” 

The bell interrupted whatever else it was Kenny planned on saying, and he was quick to say goodbye and dart off to his first class, leaving Tweek holding the denim jacket close to his chest in the hallway as students rushed around together. 

Craig was right. He definitely wanted something other than friendship from Kenny. 

Unfortunately Craig had a tendency to be  _insufferable_ when he was right on things like this, so he decided to simply avoid telling any of his friends he wasn’t going to be getting a lift with them that day. Instead he texted Token half an hour before their last class ended and explained he had plans with his afternoon, though when Token questioned what they were he didn’t lie. 

He could just imagine the sniggers and teasing barbs. He didn’t need to be there to feel the friendly mocking. 

He arrived at the cafeteria as quickly as he could, pausing only as he realised maybe he didn’t want to look over eager. What was the correct time between being early and late for something like this? It wasn’t like Kenny had even given him an exact time, just 'after school'. How fucking vague did he have to be? 

He didn’t have to worry as Kenny was outside the cafeteria when he arrived, palm against the door ready to go in. The other blonde caught his eyes and gave a welcoming wave, holding the door open for Tweek. 

“Nice jacket,” Kenny complimented with a smirk and a raised brow. Tweek ducked down and hid in the woollen collar as he ducked under Kenny’s arm and into the cafeteria. 

Cartman was unsurprisingly already there, setting up his small reception desk with a sour look on his face. Kenny took a moment to explain why Tweek was there, all hand gestures and smiles in the face of his childhood friend who looked less than impressed. 

“I’m seriously, Kenny, if you slack off so you can flirt with your  _assistant_ -!” 

“I won’t slack off, I promise. I can multitask.” 

_Christ_ he wasn’t sure he could handle that kind of joking acknowledgement of  _flirting with his assistant_. 

“Red isn’t in today, she has cheerleading practice. Go get set up while I sort Tweek out.” 

Kenny shot him a wink before heading to get out his hairdressing equipment from his back, leaving Tweek with Cartman. Thankfully the brunette was in full business mode and too busy pulling a variety of items from behind the counter out for Tweek to hold and play with. The mirror was there again, and he was now in charge of sweeping after each haircut while Kenny took people’s coats. 

Once people had started arriving Cartman hurried Tweek along so he could greet them. The blonde shuffled over to where Kenny stood, looking up to meet the crooked smile and amused warm eyes. 

“Hope he hasn’t scared you off.” 

Flirting. This was…how did you flirt again? 

“Don’t worry,” Tweek bit back. “If you haven’t, Cartman’s not gonna be able to.” 

It took the other boy a moment, but when it sunk in his face practically glowed with excitement. “Tweek,  _darlin’_ , are you saying I’m worse than Cartman?!” 

“I’m not saying you’re better.” 

“You’re so cruel to me.” 

“Someone’s gotta keep you in your place.” 

While Kenny worked he was focused, speaking only to make casual conversation and put whoever was in the chair at ease. While he was between clients he danced circles around Tweek, teasing and prodding and trying to get a rise as Tweek shot him down and bit back with vigour. 

It was nice. Nicer than he thought it would be. And given the enthusiastic, playful whines that Kenny gave whenever Tweek played hard to get his presence was somewhat appreciated. 

By the time they were finished up two hours later, Cartman declaring now they had an assistant Kenny didn’t need his help cleaning up, Tweek was feeling in a significantly better mood about this whole  _Kenny_ and  _feelings_ and  _flirting_ thing that Craig and Wendy had spoken to him about the day before. 

“He’s lying. He never helps clean up. He just leaves me and Red to do it.” 

He was beginning to think maybe they were right about Kenny’s side. The blonde was sure to make his intentions known. It was kind of nice. 

By the time it came for them to leave Kenny was listening as Tweek animatedly told him of his favourite and least favourite customers that they get at the coffee shop that he was no doubt going to see that evening once he started his shift. 

It wasn’t until they got to the front doors of the school the realised that there was an outside to their little bubble, and that outside was currently experiencing torrential rain. 

Kenny clicked his tongue as they looked out of the doors, seeing the downpour outside. “Dang. I wonder if the cheer squad was practicing outside today.” 

Tweek’s brows pulled together with concern at the idea of Red and Bebe being forced to practice in the rain. “Jesus, I hope not. They’ll get wet!” 

“That's kinda the point.” 

The realisation set in and Tweek shot Kenny a withering glare. 

“What?! It was an innocent-!” 

“No, it wasn’t.” 

“You’re right, it wasn’t, but a man’s allowed to dream, isn’t he?” 

Tweek bristled before he began to walk towards the door, determination set in his features. 

“Wait! You can’t seriously want to go out there when it’s like this?” 

He hesitated, glancing out the glass doors again. “What choice do I have? I have to get to work.” 

Kenny glanced out the window once again before he reached out to Tweek’s shoulders, fingers settling around the collar of the jacket. Tweek felt panic set in as Kenny began to take the jacket away, and mentally scolded himself with the reminder that it wasn’t  _actually_ his. But Kenny then wrapped part of it over his head, shuffling close to Tweek in order to wrap the other half over Tweek’s head. 

“At least it’ll keep us partially dry till the bus stop, right?” 

Tweek wasn’t sure it would keep him  _alive_ till the bus stop with the way his skin was setting itself on  _fire_ with every brush of fabric against his arm. 

They raced to the bus stop together under the security of the denim jacket, and Tweek relished in the warmth radiating off the blonde next to him. While Kenny wasn’t as warm as him (he had regularly been compared to a human radiator), he kept wrapped up in his jacket long enough through a day to be warm when he finally took it off. 

He found himself out of breath as they arrived at the bus stop, though Kenny seemed no better. The taller blonde looked down at him with his usual lazy smile and a few chuckles that had Tweek snorting with laughter in response. 

He wasn’t sure exactly what they found so funny. Maybe it was just all the adrenaline going to his head. Or maybe it was due to the way Kenny’s very essence always seemed to make him go a bit crazy. 

Once they were back in town they made a beeline for the Tweak coffee shop, turning a ten minute walk into a five minute jog. He found he didn’t really mind the rain around them when there was the sound of Kenny’s laughter in his ear after he nearly stumbled trying to dodge a particularly deep puddle, winding up colliding into Kenny’s side. 

The familiar chime of the bell when they entered the shop drew the attention of some of the patrons, though that may have also been because of the sound of their loud laughter against the soft music playing on the speakers. Tweek should’ve been expecting it really when they entered, especially seeing that some of the patrons were familiar ones that he occasionally liked to call his friends. 

The way Clyde and Craig’s eyes zoned in on him was frightening. 

“I-uh-better go start-!” 

“Yeah, sure, I’ll go sit with the nerds over there.” 

“Do you want a drink? I can bring you a drink.” 

“Yeah, I’ll have anything. Hot chocolate or something.” 

“Right!” Tweek tried to control the smile on his face. “Sure.”

He rushed off to the back to grab his apron, ignoring the way his trousers clung to his skin now that they were sufficiently soaked. His mother greeted him with a soft smile as he approached the drinks machine and begin making the hot chocolate to take to Kenny. 

It wasn’t till he got back that she felt a need to comment on it with: “Is this the boy you dressed so nicely for on Saturday?” 

He grumbled and awkwardly shrugged off the question and the embarrassment as his brain screamed out  _yes, yes, yes!_ in response. His brain was soon consumed by various tasks that came with running the small shop, topping up various appliances and preparing the coffees as his mother took the orders. He couldn’t help but occasionally glance over to the table in the back where his friends were, focus lingering on the lone blonde for a few seconds too long every time. 

He felt his heart race whenever he looked over and those big blue eyes were already looking at him. 

When the time for his break approached, Clyde was at the counter. He’d timed it perfectly, as Mrs Tweak was in the back, though the shit eating grin on his face was setting off Tweek’s nerves. 

“Craig may have mentioned that you totally wanna bone Kenny-!” 

“What the  _fuck_ , Clyde?!” 

“Shh!” Clyde ducked his head low, glancing over his shoulder in a way that was probably meant to be subtle but totally was not. “Quiet! It’s okay! It’s cute I love it so much.” 

“You get  _way_ too into your friend’s love lives.” 

“Yeah, yeah, you guys tell me that every time. Not the point though! We’re gonna do you a favour.” 

Craig approached the counter with his bag over his shoulder and a smirk on his face. “You ready, dude?” 

“Yeah! I’m ready! Did you grab my bag-yes! Thanks!” 

“Wait, what?!” Tweek’s eyes flickered between the pair. “Where are you going?” 

“Craig’s house. He’s gonna help me with my homework-!” 

“When did we agree on this?” 

“I mean, we haven’t yet, but I’m sure you’ll say yes.” 

Tweek hissed low to draw their attention back. “No! Stop! I know what you’re doing and you’re going to  _cease_ immediately.” 

“Dunno what you’re talking about,” Craig said with a shrug. 

“You told Clyde I want to  _bone_ Kenny?” he snapped as low as he could so as not to be overheard. “Did you tell him you want to bone Ky-!” 

“Yes, I did, so you don’t need to repeat it.” 

“You’re such an asshole, Craig.” 

“Thanks.” 

Clyde rolled his eyes at the bickering. “Anyway, we’re heading off, and it’s time for your break, right?” 

As if on queue the door to the back room reopened and his mother’s gentle voice echoed out to let him know he could take his break. She exchanged a few quick words with Craig and Clyde, wishing them a nice evening even if they couldn’t stay for Tweek’s break. 

Tweek however hoped they had an  _awful_ evening after  _ditching_ him. 

He took his time getting his usual coffee ready, glancing at the back of the store to where Kenny sat on his phone, probably playing some dumb game. He swallowed a lump in his throat and decided to waste more time by getting a second hot chocolate ready. Just in case Kenny had already drank all of his. 

He approached the table with hands that shook as they held the two hot drinks and he was thankful he had the foresight to not fill them up all the way. He had a feeling this would happen. 

“Hey.” 

As soon as he greeted Kenny the blonde had dropped his phone in favour of giving Tweek his undivided attention. “Hey! Is that for me?” 

“Yeah, on the house. As a thank you for getting me here, I guess.” 

There was the usual lopsided smile. “Anytime, dude. You’re pretty good company.” 

Tweek gave a nervous chuckle as he sat down on the opposite side of the table. 

The silence that settled over them was unusually awkward. The knowledge that Craig and Clyde had left with some ulterior motive to get him to talk to his  _crush_ had him feeling  _way_ more pressure than usual as he stared down into the milky brown liquid in his mug. He was so hyper aware of Kenny’s…everything. The sound of him drinking his chocolate and the mug hitting the table, the way Tweek couldn’t stop fidgeting and ended up bumping their feet together. 

Jesus  _fuck_ when was he this bad around Kenny?! 

“It’s hard to figure you out.” 

Tweek snapped his head up to Kenny with a furrowed “How? I’m not  _secretive_.” 

“No, but you don’t react to things the way I expect.” 

He looked back down at his mug. He wished it wasn’t true. That was what made him stand out so much. 

“It’s nice. I really like it.” 

“I try really hard to be like everyone else,” Tweek confessed. “To try be  _normal_.” 

“How can you be like everyone else if everyone is different?” 

That one caught him off guard. 

“Are Craig and Clyde alike?” 

“No-that’s not what I meant!” 

Kenny ignored him. “Or Stan and Kyle? Heidi and Wendy? Sure, there are similarities, but you have similarities with them too. That’s how you have so many friends.” 

“I don’t have that many friends.” 

“Sure you do! Yeah, you might not have a regular group like some of them, but you talk to more people than Stan does.” 

Maybe there was  _some_ merit in that. 

“I think you’re pretty cool, Tweek. I really like you.” 

He turned to Kenny with wide eyes and a slack jaw as his face began to heat up, seeing freckled cheeks stained pink and a lopsided smile that was working its way to a special place in his heart. 

“Yeah, you’re hard to figure out, but that’s one of the things that attracted me to you in the first place.” 

He felt his heart lodge itself in his throat as his stomach made strange motions that reminded him of a laundry machine. 

“I guess it helped that you looked so good in my jacket.” 

He felt the embarrassment overtake his face as he attempted to hide a smile behind his hand, jabbing his foot into Kenny’s shin. Kenny’s response was to simply grin back at him and catch the foot between his legs, holding it in place as he lent in close. 

“So…what about you?” 

“What  _about_ me?” 

“Do you like me? I’m talking about like, like here. The serious business.” 

“You’re such a fucking loser.” 

“That wasn’t a no.” 

His smile widened. “It wasn’t.” 

“So…was it a yes?” 

Tweek was worried that he may mess up if he opened his mouth again. He didn’t trust himself to say the right thing. Instead he turned his eyes to the charming blues across the table and nodded quickly. 

“Does that mean you’d be willing to maybe come on a date with me this Saturday?” 

“Maybe.” 

“Only maybe?” 

Tweek schooled his expression into something a little less manic. “Depends on where you’re gonna take me.” 

“That depends where you’d like to go. There’s the movies, or maybe like a lunch date at the mall, or we could go in the evening and head to Stark’s pond. It’s pretty nice out there when the suns setting.” 

“I know what teenagers do at Stark’s pond, Kenny.” 

“Great, I won’t need to brief you on it then!” 

Tweek shot a patronising glare that was ruined by his smile. “I like lunch. And…” 

Kenny waited with an easy smile. He was always so happy to wait. 

“And maybe if it’s a good date it’ll last till the evening.” 

The easy smile turned positively crude. “Oh, it’ll be good alright.” 

“Tweek, honey! Five more minutes!” 

_Shit_ he’d forgotten his  _mom_ was still here. 

Kenny cleared his throat, having sat back in his chair properly. Tweek hadn’t even realised how close they’d been leaning in together. 

“Did Craig and Clyde talk to you about…?” 

Kenny gave a good-natured scoff. “Don’t get me wrong, I was gonna ask…eventually. But Craig isn’t as subtle as he thinks he is.” 

“He’s  _such_ a douchebag.” 

“Yeah, but I think it worked out well this time.” 

Yeah. He had to agree there. 

Their conversation was stilted from there, but instead of from discomfort it was more an awkward, mutual happy kind of feeling that left Tweek’s toes curling. He downed his coffee quickly as his break came to an end and stood, Kenny following in his footsteps and thanking him for the hot chocolate. He gave a mortifyingly embarrassing squawk as his mother crept up on them, interrupting their moment in order to offer Kenny her umbrella to get him home dry. 

Kenny took the floral item with a bright smile and a thank you, promising to give it back to Tweek the next day at school. The teens exchanged a rushed goodbye under the eyes of Mrs Tweak, who wasn’t always the best at reading a room. Kenny did linger until she disappeared back to the store room. 

“Here.” 

Tweek jumped as a jacket was handed to him. “Wha-you need this! It’s raining!” 

“Give it back to me on Saturday.” 

“I-wha-it’s  _Monday_ , Kenny, I’m gonna see you, like, every day at school!” 

Kenny shrugged with a coy smile. “Yeah, but at least this way I know you’ll definitely show up on Saturday.” 

He didn’t question further. 

Instead he took the jacket, missing the benefit of having a hood from Craig’s old jacket he usually wore, but enjoying the new scent of Kenny that would wrap around him when he snuggled into the woollen collar. It was a scent he hoped would become familiar very, very soon. 

**Author's Note:**

> I just 
> 
> love them so much
> 
> Thanks. 
> 
> There was gonna be more originally (I wrote a little scene of Craig being a douche and pissing Kyle off, who then interrupted Twenny moments with furious ranting, but I'm gonna save that for another story). This seemed like the perfect amount.


End file.
